WHERE DOES THE FAMILY STOP AND THE STATE BEGIN? OÙ S’ARRÊTE LA FAMILLE ET OÙ COMMENCE L’ÉTAT ?

Omar Bongo's death after 42 years in power in 2009 and his succession by primogeniture, at the head of the country by Ali Bongo, left the Gabonese people with the discovery, with amazement, of the extent of the gangrening of the country at all levels by the Bongo family; to the point that it is now virtually impossible to distinguish between the two. The Bongo family and the Gabonese State are now confused and it is tragic for the country!

The saga of the Boeing 777 of the Presidency of the Gabonese Republic, immobilized in Orly in France, for unpaid bills to a Swiss provider of aviation services, has come to acutely fix the spotlight on the caricature that is the family involvement in public sphere in Gabon. Indeed, an article in Le Monde, explains that the source of the dispute stems from a series of aircraft charter via the Swiss Company Travcon AG, officially by "The Presidency of the Gabonese Republic," but in reality to meet the ostentatious and expensive lifestyles of members of the Bongo family.

The current Gabon is not the one envisaged by people like Leon Mba, Jean Hilaire Aubame, Paul Gondjout etc., at the time of the independence. It is even less the one wanted by the perpetrators of the 1964 push No, Gabon, says the recently published book "La Fabrique des Barbouzes" that we will cover in future posts, is the result of a project born in the halls of the Elysée palace, a project in the heart of a tacit agreement between a man, Albert Bernard Bongo, and one country, France, which aimed to guarantee to France the resources of Gabon, in exchange for staying in power. A project led by the desire to create in Gabon, a French client and dependent State, under poorly concealed independent outlook. To achieve this objective, the integration of the family in the management of public affairs became a must, with consequences that are revealed today.

Thanks to its oil emirate status and its low population, Gabon quickly became the ultimate pillar of Françafrique, where realpolitik had precedence over any considerations related to the values of democracy, good governance and human rights nevertheless advocated by the French sponsors. The most tragic consequence of this situation is that the oil wealth that should have financed industrialization, urbanization, health, education, etc., for the country, has been squandered. Deceptive high level of GDP per capita, on paper due to the low population of Gabon, masked strong negative social cues: over 30% unemployment rate among young people; the majority of the population living at or below the poverty threshold...

The problem in Gabon of the social redistribution of oil profits is obvious; because as revealed by the recently published articles in the press, the product of Gabon's resources, including those from public procurement, internal trade and real estate; is captured mainly by Bongo family members and people who are close to them. Meanwhile, the population as a whole bears the brunt of high inflation that makes the cost of living unbearable for low wages, and generalized crisis of poor living since the Bongo regime never thought to implement a national strategy to address poverty. For example, while the regime was massively cutting student scholarships for so-called reform of public spending and better rationalization, the recent article in Le Monde tells us about the travel costs to Gabon on invitation by the Bongo family, of Jermaine Jackson, older brother of Michael Jackson. For travels in 2008 for the "Balafons Music Awards" organized by the Amissa Bongo Foundation, Jermaine Jackson was transported to Gabon by Travcon at a price of 633,000 dollars, or nearly 317 million CFA francs. The following year, in 2009, the same Jermaine Jackson returned to Gabon, transported at the same costs. How many Gabonese citizens would prefer to spend more than 600 million CFA francs to bring Jermaine Jackson to Gabon, instead of spending that amount to improve the education or health system?

Dear readers, we would understand if the Bongos had an independent fortune that allowed them to have those spending spree. But unfortunately, it is the Gabonese taxpayer who pays these family follies and this can only lead to social protests which could turn into political demonstrations. We must end this family based regime and return to the republic, because the serious contagious disease of the Bongos is the waste of Gabonese taxpayers' money to meet their various inferiority complex by being seen alongside international stars. Whether Ali Bongo, Pascaline Bongo, Patience Dabany etc., their children, nephews, nieces, cousins, etc., they use Gabonese money to satisfy those desires. To restore a visible demarcated border between the family and the state, the removal of Ali Bongo’s regime is required. There is no middle ground!

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